After clearing his ISC exams last year, Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Aarya Gadkari made a rather brave decision to take a year-long sabbatical and pursue music. He auditioned for the second season of the reality TV contest The Stage last year and got selected, making it all the way to the top 17. “To suddenly be thrown into this world where everyone could sing was great!” says Gadkari.

The 19-year-old singer-songwriter has apparently made good use of his gap year and is now ready with an EP, titled One Year, One House. He admits what really motivated him to record the four-track album was staying by himself in Mumbai. “The whole concept of the EP – One Year, One House – was because my parents shifted to Dubai and I was living alone,” says Gadkari.

Gadkari has always been musically inclined; he started with singing lessons at the age of 13 and taught himself how to play the guitar by the time he was 16. “I was actually more into swimming and basketball, but when I was about 15, I realized I wanted to be an artist,” he says.

‘One Year, One House’ Artwork: Manan Dhuldhoya

A breezy, pop-rock record, One Year, One House touches upon themes of love, heartbreak and everything in between. The opening song “Broken” is about a break-up Gadkari went through when he was 16, while “Mum And Dad” came out of the experience of Gadkari moving cities while growing up. “I wanted to have that nursery rhyme sound on this song because it signifies the title,” he says. “Wasted For Love” is the only track on the record that isn’t about Gadkari, but about three of his friends and a situation they faced. “I write songs only when something happens; otherwise it turns out to be vanilla,” says Gadkari, who worked with Mumbai producer Rahul Popawala on the track. The final track “When You Walk Down The Aisle” was conceptualized after Gadkari attended a wedding. A larger portion of One Year, One House was recorded at Mumbai studio Multitap Entertainment. The rest of the EP was produced by Mumbai-based producer Suhit Chiruthapudi.

Gadkari – who performs with a loop pedal and counts Ed Sheeran as his biggest idol – is now moving to the U.K. to pursue an undergraduate degree in Economics and Management. Ask him whether academics is the real agenda and he admits, “I know for a fact when I go there I’ll have a larger audience for original music.”